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Education news and issues in the Ozarks.

Missouri State University to Become "All Steinway" School

Mirko Waltermann
/
Flickr

The Missouri State University Board of Governors has approved a contract to buy new Steinway & Sons pianos, considered around the world as the ultimate performance instruments, according to a press release from MSU.

Missouri State will be one of only four schools in Missouri to have All-Steinway status by the end of the year, according to the university.

The university plans to acquire several makes of Steinways that will replace its current pianos.  According to MSU, many are more than 50-years-old and beyond the point of restoration.

The new pianos include:

  • One Steinway D (7-foot grand) for the C. Minor Recital Hall in Ellis Hall
  • Six Steinway B models (6-1/2 foot grands), two for each of the three piano faculty teaching studios
  • Five M models (5-1/2 foot grands) for piano major practice rooms
  • Ten Boston (5-1/2 foot) grands: five in faculty voice studios, four in per-course voice studios, and one in the Wehr Band Hall jazz room
  • Twenty-seven Boston uprights in practice rooms and classrooms in Ellis and Wehr halls

MSU officials expect the purchase to have a positive effect on national accreditation, help recruit the best music students and faculty and enhance Missouri State’s status as a destination campus.
“Music can touch souls, uplift and soothe spirits, stir passions, generate new ideas and create inclusiveness and collaboration,” said Dr. Julie Combs, department head and professor of music. “We want our students to have the best equipment as they go forward to re-invent their world.”

Michele Skalicky has worked at KSMU since the station occupied the old white house at National and Grand. She enjoys working on both the announcing side and in news and has been the recipient of statewide and national awards for news reporting. She likes to tell stories that make a difference. Michele enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking, camping and leisurely kayaking.